Stoke vs Newcastle: Expect goals to be in short supply on Monday

The visitors are 23/10 to earn the point that will take them past Chelsea

Newcastle’s detractors claim that they haven’t faced many tough tests over the course of their unbeaten start. Regardless of where you stand on that issue, there is no denying that the trip to Stoke is one of their trickiest yet…

Match odds

Something has to give at the Britannia Stadium as a Newcastle side who haven’t been beaten in 90 minutes in 15 games dating back to May 1 travel to Stoke, who have lost just one home Premier League encounter throughout 2011.

Or does it? After all, those trends points to the draw at the tasty price of 23/10, and a point would mark a decent return for both teams, lifting Newcastle above Chelsea and keeping Stoke ticking over ahead of a Europa League trek to Israel.

The Potters currently sit 11th in the table and it is interesting to note that their opponents are five from five against bottom-eight clubs this season but have shared the spoils in each of their four against those beyond that.

If you’re convinced that there will be a winner however, Stoke are the favourites at 6/5, with Alan Pardew’s men 23/10 to secure a third away triumph of the campaign.

Other markets

The majority of signs point to this match featuring under 2.5 goals at 8/13, with all four of Stoke’s outings as hosts thus far falling shy of that mark, in addition to three of Newcastle’s four on the road.

Despite that, there could be value in backing both teams to score at evens as that has been the case in five of their last five clashes and Newcastle have been shut out only once away from St James’ Park. The 1-1 draw is 11/2.

Newcastle top scorer Demba Ba is an attractive 6/1 to break the deadlock, having done so in his previous collision with the club who almost signed him back in January.